Gorka BIDEGAIN

The main research interests of Gorka Bidegain lie within the use of advanced mathematical and computational modelling techniques to identify and assess the marine ecosystem responses to pressures and ecological and environmental heterogeneities such as hydrodynamics, disease and fisheries. He also conducts (or uses data from) laboratory/field experiments. GB is particularly curious about emerging marine diseases causing mass mortalities in marine invertebrates such as corals, clams, oysters, abalone, sea stars, etc., with a special emphasis on the physical and biological mechanisms and processes that underlie the generation of outbreaks. For this, GB uses single-population models, metapopulation and community models, and coupled ocean circulation models. GB evaluates disease risk estimating the basic reproduction Ro using Next Generation Matrix method. GB also analyzes time series and develops new methodologies and algorithms related with nonparametric statistics, and such as nonparametric curves estimation, testing procedures, variable selection, bootstrap resampling methods with implications in marine biology and fisheries. GB has participated in 20 national and international R&D competitive projects and contracts with administration, including two EU projects such as a EMBOS (COST action under Horizon 2020) and THESEUS (FP7 – Environment project), two National Science Foundation projects in USA. GB also has served as PI on regional fisheries projects. GB has published 25 articles in top rank peer reviewed journals, 2 book chapters, several scientific/technical reports and open access computer codes and GUI-s (R, Matalab) and participated in more than 25 national/international conferences. He has reviewed more than 30 papers (e.g. Frontiers in Marine Science, The Lancet Planetary Health), and 2 US grant proposals. He is member of the Ecology of Infectious Marine Diseases Research Coordination Network (EIMD-RCN) (Cornell University, USA) and Expert Review panel of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Global Warming Special Reports. He is also member of the Editorial Board of the journals “Frontiers in Marine Science” and “Once Ecosystem”. GB is member of the Ecological Society of America.